Evolution 2 is finally here, but the reason why WWE delayed it sounds disappointing - Reports

7 hours ago 1

close

In 2018, WWE hosted its first-ever all-women's premium live event, titled Evolution. It was seen as a groundbreaking moment, and fans and wrestlers alike hoped that it would turn into an annual tradition, where the women's division would be the sole focus of the promotion for one night.

However, fans had to wait until 2025 for the second iteration of the PLE to be announced, which is set to take place this weekend. Over the years, people have wondered why the Stamford-based promotion didn't follow up with the subsequent editions of Evolution, and they might finally have an answer.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter stated that the first Evolution PLE drew very low numbers. The talent that asked about holding another installment of the event was told that the inaugural show had the lowest viewing stats ever for a marquee WWE event.

While the exact PPV numbers were not revealed, this was the reason given to WWE talent over the years for not going ahead with another Evolution PLE until now.

youtube-cover

Evolution 2018 was held at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. The PLE saw an attendance of 10,900 and featured Ronda Rousey in the main event defending the RAW Women's Championship against Nikki Bella.

While the event may not have drawn significant numbers, according to what WWE reportedly told the talent, the matches on the card received praise from the fans.

Becky Lynch beat Charlotte Flair in a Last Women Standing match for the SmackDown Women's Championship while Sasha Banks and Bayley teamed up with Natalya in a six-woman tag team match against The Riott Squad.

Fans also saw Trish Stratus and Lita team up to take on Mickie James and Alicia Fox. Given the depth of women's division over the years, the company's decision to delay the second Evolution PLE until 2025 is surprising. It took Triple H rising in power under the TKO regime to bring back the event.


WWE Evolution 2 ticket sales go up

A few days ago, WrestleTix noted on X/Twitter that most of Evolution's tickets remained unsold. The figures painted a worrying picture, with just 4,804 tickets sold out of the 6,652 tickets offered.

With the PLE just around the corner, things are looking up. On July 10, WrestleTix noted that 1,517 additional tickets were sold since the last report, bringing the figure to 6,321. However, the current numbers are even better as WWE increased the setup when the tickets started selling out, and the latest report shows 6,657 tickets have been distributed out of the 7,311 offered.

With a stacked card in place, fans will hope that they don't have to wait another seven years to see another Evolution PLE.

Why did you not like this content?

  • Clickbait / Misleading
  • Factually Incorrect
  • Hateful or Abusive
  • Baseless Opinion
  • Too Many Ads
  • Other

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback

About the author

Sherjeel Malik

Sherjeel Malik is a writer at Sportskeeda and covers pro wrestling. He was hooked on the product from the moment he saw The Hardy Boyz jumping off ladders during the Attitude Era. While he comes from an engineering background, Sherjeel’s love for pro wrestling and content writing led him to pursue a career in sports journalism. Before assuming his current role at Sportskeeda, Sherjeel worked at other reputable organizations for five years.

While writing articles, he ensures that he only relies on credible sources for information and covers relevant subjects that do not project an agenda against a particular person or association. WWE legend Paul Heyman once shared Sherjeel’s work on his social media handle.

Sherjeel’s earliest memory of pro wrestling is watching Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Undertaker square off for the WWE Title in the main event of a pay-per-view in 1998. His favorite wrestlers are Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy. While he admires Orton for his character work as a heel, he looks up to Jeff because of his unique wrestling style and risk-taking ability.

If he could go back to the Attitude Era, Sherjeel would like to manage Ken Shamrock and be his mouthpiece. He feels Shamrock’s promo skills prevented him from becoming a main event-level act in WWE. Hence, he would like to help the UFC Hall of Famer get over with fans.

When not writing about pro wrestling, he likes to read classics and fiction books.

Know More

Edited by Kebin Edwin Antony

Read Entire Article